The Dying of the Light

by Derek Landy

  Danny refocuses on the knife. Jeremiah’s strength is leaving him with every breath he puffs out. He’s relying on his weight now to keep the knife in position – saving the last of his energy for one final push. Sweat rolls off Jeremiah’s forehead and drops on to Danny’s face, on to his gritted teeth. Danny heaves, and they roll, and for a moment Danny is on top, but then Jeremiah flips them over again. Danny’s head knocks against Valkyrie’s leg. The tip of the knife scrapes his chest.

  Danny lets the blade dig in. Sensing that his moment has arrived, Jeremiah grunts and snarls and drives downwards, but Danny surprises him by holding on, and they strain and struggle and strain again, and Jeremiah is the first to weaken.

  Danny shoves him off, rolls on top, and Jeremiah gasps and cries, like he doesn’t want to play any more. Danny knocks the knife from his hand and, just like that, normal time resumes around them.

  Gant turns, his smile quickly becoming a scowl as Danny finds himself being lifted off the floor. Valkyrie has him.

  “Run,” she says.

  He runs. She’s right behind him. They run across a swaying bridge of chains and mesh. Twice Danny’s foot slips through, dangles above the fire, and twice Valkyrie has to haul him up again. They reach a spiral staircase on the other side, and head up.

  “I can’t,” Danny gasps.

  “You have to,” Valkyrie says.

  He trips and he falls and he bangs his knees and scalds his hands on the hot metal, but he keeps going. He doesn’t know how, but he keeps going. By the time they reach the top, his legs are jelly. Valkyrie wraps her arm round his waist, and she practically carries him onwards. Some distant part of his mind takes a moment to appreciate her strength.

  “I’m all turned around,” she says. “Any idea how we get out of here?”

  He looks around, then points at a distant platform. “There, I think.”

  She scans the area, finding the quickest path through all the walkways and bridges. “Got it,” she says, and they’re off again.

  Danny lets himself be led. He’s too tired to do anything but follow blindly. Valkyrie is the expert here. She’s the warrior. He’s just some guy.

  They cross another chain bridge, almost get to the platform when Gant clambers up a ladder on the other side.

  Valkyrie holds out her hand. She grits her teeth, focusing, and that lightning bursts forth. It hits Gant square in the chest, burns right through his shirt, but he never stops smiling.

  “I’m afraid you can’t beat me,” he calls to them as he nears. “But if you surrender now I promise to make your death relatively painless.”

  “Back,” Valkyrie whispers.

  Danny retraces his steps, the chain bridge swaying. He gets to the last platform and looks back. Valkyrie’s hands are glowing white, but instead of firing that lightning at Gant, she grips the chains on the bridge. There’s a snap as they break, and a lurch, and the bridge sags, and Valkyrie turns and leaps as it collapses. Danny catches her.

  They look back at the other platform, at Gant who shakes his head in an amused fashion. Calmly, he takes another set of stairs.

  “This used to be easy,” Valkyrie mutters. “You shoot someone, they go down. Mostly. This guy … this guy can’t be hurt.”

  “No,” says Danny, “he can. I think. I heard it. They were going after this woman, there was a fight, I heard Gant, you know, in pain. Not much pain but … definitely hurt.”

  Valkyrie wipes her sleeve across her forehead. Her jacket looks crisp and dry – so unlike Danny’s own sweat-soaked shirt. “Well, he’s not feeling any pain in here.”

  “He says he’s master of his domain.”

  Valkyrie looks at him. “Maybe that’s it. In this house, we can’t beat him.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We take it outside.”

  She has another look at the criss-crossing walkways and chooses a new route. Danny runs by himself to the next set of stairs, but she has to help him climb them. When they reach the top, they find themselves on the same level as the door out of here.

  Valkyrie leads the way across a chain bridge. Danny comes after her – slow but steady, gripping the chains and making sure his feet don’t slip off the edge. This is the longest of the chain bridges, and it sways dramatically as they traverse it.

  “Huh,” Valkyrie says. She has stopped walking, and she’s scanning the area. “Can’t see him.”

  Danny stops behind her, grateful for the chance to catch his breath.

  “Can you see him?” Valkyrie asks.

  Danny grunts, shakes his head, not really bothering to look. All they have to do is get to the platform on the other side, pass through the hut he’d been chained up in, and take the walkway to the door. They are almost there. Almost out.

  Valkyrie curses and pushes him and Danny cries out and falls, almost slipping from the bridge as a dark shape swoops overhead, cackling with glee.

  Cadaverous Gant, swinging from a chain like Tarzan, and coming back this way.

  Valkyrie grabs Danny’s hands, pulls him up. Gant passes again, his long fingers barely missing Danny’s shirt. The swing takes him up high and he leaps like a circus acrobat, snagging another chain, and swings in at a different angle. This time when he passes he kicks at the railings and the bridge lurches and Valkyrie nearly falls. Danny lunges, his hands grabbing her jacket, steadying her. She fills the air with imaginative swear words, and Danny releases her. Then something snags his shirt collar and he’s plucked off his feet.

  Valkyrie spins, grabbing the chain of his handcuffs. The sudden stop is jarring, and above him, Gant grunts in surprise.

  Danny hangs in the air between them. Below him is nothing but fire.

  “I can hold on forever, young lady,” Gant calls down, laughing. “Can you?”

  Valkyrie’s free hand glows. Lightning surges and bursts forth, rattling the chain Gant hangs from. He lets go and Danny drops. Valkyrie braces herself and Danny comes to a jarring stop once again, the pain in his shoulder sending bright flashes before his eyes. He hangs there, not even daring to scream. He sees Gant out of the corner of his eye, swinging gently above them.

  Danny doesn’t know how Valkyrie is holding him, but she is. And, incredibly, she starts to pull him up.

  As they sweat and strain, Gant watches. When it becomes clear that Danny’s going to be able to clamber back on to the bridge, he sighs, looks around, and starts climbing the chain into the darkness above.

  Danny gets to his feet. Every part of him is trembling.

  “Come on,” Valkyrie says. He nods dumbly, and follows.

  They get to the platform. Danny’s legs give out. He tries to get up before Valkyrie notices, but she looks back.

  “I’m fine,” he says.

  “We’re almost there.”

  “I know. I’m fine.” He gets up, gives her a smile to reassure her, and his eyes widen.

  Valkyrie turns as Jeremiah runs at her.

  He slashes at her with the knife. Once again, Danny is surprised by how fast he is, but Valkyrie doesn’t try to duck or jump away. Instead, she meets him, moving right into him, wrapping her left arm round his knife arm and repeatedly slamming her right palm into his face. Jeremiah’s nose splits and his lips burst and there’s blood everywhere. The knife clatters to the metal floor. Valkyrie sweeps his leg and he lands heavily, mewling like a spoiled child. He reaches up, grabs her hair, yanks her down on top of him. His hands encircle her throat. They start to blur.

  The act of killing, this time seen from the outside. To Danny, a blur of movement. To Valkyrie, a struggle that is going on forever.

  Danny lunges forward to help, but the blurred images are no longer there. There’s a screech behind him and he whirls. Valkyrie lies on the edge of the platform, clutching Jeremiah’s hand as he dangles over the sea of liquid fire.

  “Help me!” Jeremiah screams.

  But his weight, plus all the sweat, prove too much, and he slips from Valkyrie’s grip and disappears, scr
eaming, into the flames below.

  Valkyrie stays where she is for a moment, then gets up. She wipes her hand on her trousers.

  “No!”

  They both look round at the scream. Cadaverous Gant stands on a higher platform, a hanging chain in his hand.

  “Danny,” says Valkyrie. “We have to go—”

  She doesn’t even get the chance to say “now”. Gant leaps into a deep swing. At its apex he lets go, and for a moment Danny thinks he’s going to miss the hut, but he slams into it, scrabbling for purchase before he slips. His fingers dig in. He climbs on to the hut’s roof, then drops on to the walkway, and strides to the platform.

  “The first chance you get,” Valkyrie whispers to Danny, “you get out of here.”

  Danny shakes his head. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Get out of here and get help,” Valkyrie says, and walks towards Gant, her hands glowing.

  She fires that lightning and Gant just walks through it like it’s nothing. He hits her and she goes spinning.

  “I’m going to rip your heart out,” says Gant.

  108

  Gant picks her up only to slam her down again. Then he kicks her and Valkyrie goes rolling across the platform, gasping.

  “I’ve known that boy since before either of you were born,” he says, his voice little more than a guttural snarl. “I practically raised him. He had his flaws, of course he did, but he was a good boy, and he worked hard, and all he ever wanted to do was make me happy. And you … you come to my home and you …” Gant grabs her by the collar, lifts her off her feet. “What gives you the right? What gives you the right to kill that poor boy?”

  Valkyrie struggles to breathe. “How many … people has he … killed?”

  “They don’t count!” Gant screams. “They don’t count!” He headbutts her and lets her drop, and Valkyrie staggers and stumbles away from him, blood running down her face.

  “They’re cattle!” he continues to scream. “They’re practice! Their lives meant nothing!”

  Danny sees his chance. The walkway is clear. But he hesitates, his feet stuck.

  Valkyrie glances at him, waves. “Go,” she says, spitting blood. “Go.”

  “Yes, Danny,” Gant says, kicking Valkyrie’s legs out from under her, “go. Run. I’ll hunt you down soon enough.” He stomps on Valkyrie’s back. She cries out.

  Limping, staggering, throwing one foot in front of the other and willing his knees not to buckle, Danny crosses the walkway. He almost falls at the hut, but manages to keep himself standing. He doesn’t look back. He doesn’t turn at every cry of pain. He lurches into the hut, clinging to the hanging chains for support. The broken link dangles above him and he looks at it for a moment before reaching up to slip it from the chain. He pockets it, then stumbles to the doorway on the other side. He rests there for a moment. He’s almost out. He just has to keep it together for another few minutes. Just one more little bridge, and then the front door, and fresh air and freedom. That’s all.

  He leaves the hut. One foot in front of the other. Hands on the railing. Easy does it. Don’t get distracted. Don’t look over at what’s happening to Valkyrie. Don’t look over at what Gant is doing.

  One foot in front of the other.

  One foot in front of the—

  Danny falls against the door. He grabs the latch. It’s slippery beneath his fingers. For the first time the thought occurs to him that it might be locked, that it won’t open, that some kind of magic will deny him his escape, but when he finally gets a grip and turns the latch the door does indeed open, and he pulls it wide and cold air blasts his whole body.

  He sobs with relief and throws himself forward, the steps taking him by surprise. He falls to the sidewalk, skinning the palms of his hands but not feeling it. He crawls on, tries calling for help, but the street is as empty now as when he first got here.

  He reaches the Cadillac, fumbles for the handle, uses it to pull himself to his feet. Valkyrie’s pickup is parked right behind it. He hears her yell in pain.

  He looks back, into the house. He can still see the top of Gant’s head, bobbing up and down as he continues to beat Valkyrie to death. Danny takes a deep, deep breath, and wipes some of the sweat from his eyes. Then he stands, and takes the broken link of chain from his pocket. It’s heavy and big.

  He turns to the Cadillac, and smashes the driver’s window.

  Next to go is the wing mirror. That smashes easily, making plenty of noise.

  “Hey!” Gant yells from inside the house.

  Danny ignores him, goes round to the front of the car. He swings the broken link into the left headlight.

  “Hey!” Gant screams. “You leave that car alone!”

  Danny moves slowly over to the other headlight, making deep dents in the hood as he goes. Clang. Clang. Clang.

  Then there’s a smash. And no more headlights.

  “Hey!”

  Danny looks up. Cadaverous Gant stands in the doorway, lips pulled back from his teeth. He looks livid. He looks, with the sunlight hitting his liver spots, like a really angry corpse. Danny laughs. This only makes Gant angrier.

  “First you kill Jeremiah and then you attack my car?”

  Danny brings the chain link down on the hood. Clang.

  “Stop that! Jeremiah took great pride in maintaining this car. He would wax it every day until I could see my—”

  Clang.

  “Stop!” Gant screeches. “Stop it!”

  “Make me,” says Danny. His throat is so dry it hurts to speak. “Come on out of there. Face me like a man.”

  “What is this?” Gant sneers. “You think you’re the hero? You think you can—”

  Danny doesn’t think anything of the sort. Danny just smashes the passenger side window.

  Gant lets out a cry of anger and horror and jumps down the steps. Danny backs off into the middle of the street, giving himself room. Gant stalks right up to him and Danny raises his fists, thinking maybe he can use the broken link to knock out a few of Gant’s yellowing teeth now that he no longer has the house to make him unstoppable. But even out here, the old man surprises him with his speed and his strength. Danny barely glimpses the punch that rocks his head back. He completely misses the one that knocks him on his ass.

  Dazed, he can only look up as Gant takes Jeremiah Wallow’s knife from his pocket. He closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to see the end coming, and he has no strength left in him to fight.

  Then suddenly he’s being pulled to his feet and spun. Gant holds him from behind and digs the knife into his throat. Danny opens his eyes.

  Valkyrie stands on the steps of the house. Her face is a mask of blood and she’s holding her ribs with her left hand. Her right hand is outstretched, and it’s glowing white.

  “Your aim is off,” Gant snarls, almost directly into Danny’s ear. “You’ll hit your friend here. Might even kill him.”

  “My aim’s improving,” Valkyrie says. “I’m just out of practice, that’s all.”

  “Then go ahead,” says Gant. “Fire. If you think you can do it. Go on. Tell you what, I’ll make it easy on you. I’ll count down from three. If you haven’t fired by then, I’ll cut his throat. Does that sound fair?”

  “I have a counter-proposal,” says Valkyrie, coming down the steps. Her eyes burn. “You let him go and drop the knife. You surrender and I arrest you. You tell me why you came after me and who wants me dead. That sounds pretty fair to me.”

  Danny can hear Gant’s smile in his voice as Valkyrie joins them on the street. “Three.”

  Valkyrie’s hand glows brighter. “Two,” she says.

  The knife digs a little deeper into Danny’s throat. “One,” says Gant.

  “OK!” Valkyrie says, the glow immediately fading from her hand. “OK, you win.”

  “Naturally,” says Gant. “You have shackles, I take it? Put them on.”

  Valkyrie’s face turns to stone.

  Gant’s laugh is not a happy one. “You think me
stupid, girl? You think I’m going to leave you even the slightest chance to gain the upper hand?”

  She hesitates. “The shackles are in my pickup,” she says, and starts forward. She freezes when Gant presses the blade deep enough into Danny’s throat to draw blood.

  “Do not take one more step, you insolent little whelp.”

  Valkyrie narrows her eyes. “You want me to get the shackles, I’m getting the—”

  “You’re not doing anything,” Gant says. He drags Danny back towards the pickup. “I’ve heard all about you,” he says as they go. “I’ve been told about the things you’ve done. Up until now, I wondered which version of you we were going to get – the angel or the demon. Jeremiah and I, we were prepared for both.”

  Valkyrie actually smiles. “You’d never be prepared for Darquesse.”

  “You’d be surprised,” says Gant. “I’ve killed all sorts of people in the course of my work.”

  “And what work would that be, exactly?”

  “Killing people like you.” They come to a stop at the door of the pickup. “Angel or demon, we wondered. Now I know.”

  “No,” says Valkyrie. “You only think you do.”

  Danny feels Gant’s grip loosen as he reaches for the door handle. “Is that so? Well then, you tell me, young lady. Which are you? Angel or demon?”

  Valkyrie smiles again. “I’m like anybody,” she says. “I’m a little bit of both.”

  Gant opens the door and all Danny sees is a flash of brown and black as Xena leaps from the seat. Danny recoils and Gant falls, the big German shepherd snarling as she rolls off his chest. She goes for him again, jaws clamping down on his forearm. Gant screams and Xena shakes her head furiously. The old man staggers to his feet, kicks the dog in the side. Xena yelps, dances back, dives again, closing her teeth round his ankle.